Tag.



A. MOCALLUM.

TAG.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 24, 1909.

1,066,832, Patented Jul 8, 1913.

WITNESSES; [N VENTOR.

I I ATTORNEXS,

ALEXANDER MCCALLUM, OF NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TAG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July8, 1913.

Application filed December 24, 1909. Serial No. 534,807.

To all who m, '1' I may comm 1w Be it known that I, Annxaunnu Moo/Ar.-LUM, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Northampton,in the 5 county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented anew and useful Tag, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices adapted to be attachedto fabrics of various kinds for the purpose of denoting character orquality,-size, style, price, etc., and consists of a body having afabric index, marking-surface, or surface or face that can be printed orwritten on, and a tongue generally and preferably narrower than suchbody to which it is attached at the top, said body and tongue beingprovided with interior lugs arranged to grip the fabric, when ithe bodyand tongue are closed together, to hold the tag to said fabric, all ashereinafter set forth.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive andreliable tag, which combines in one device the characteristics both of atag and a clip or fastener therefor, and which can be easily and quicklyapplied to an article of fabric which it is desired to mark, and withequal facility can be removed therefrom without injuring the same in anyway. This tag is particularly well adapted for use in connection withhosiery, handkerchiefs,gloves, veilings, cloth in the piece, and thelike. I attain this object by the means illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a tag whichembodies my invention in a practical form; Fig. 2, a side elevation ofsuch tag;

Fig. 3, a rear elevation of the same; Fig. 4,

a front elevation of said. tag showing it attached to a fragment offabric, and, Fig. 5,

a side elevation of the tag so attached with the fabric in section.

In the first three views the tag is represented as being open, that is,with the body and tongue widely separated at their bases and in obliquerelationship to each other, in readiness to be applied to the goods,while in the next two Views said tag is represented as being closed,that is, with the body and tongue brought into approxin'iately parallelrelationship, as is necessary in attaching it to the goods.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

This tag is made of metal aiid fabric, the latter being permanently andintimately united with the body and constituting the face of the tag.The union between the metal and fabric is brought about during theprocess of manufacture, and is of such a nature that to all intents andpurposes the two materials are as one, in spite of the fact, that suchmaterials are so inherently unlike .tlCll other. The fabric face of thetag partakes more of the nature of veneer, although the two materials ofwhich the tag consists are not analogous as in the case of woodveneering, than of a coating as of paint, lacquer, celluloid, and thelike. And herein is an important distinction, because this fabric faceor this facing, although somewhat of the nature of a veneer as juststated, is not a veneer in the sense in which that term is generallyunderstood, and it is for an entirely dillerent purpose, neither is it atrue coating within the meaning of the word as used in connection withmetal. The facing is not for the purpose of giving the tag a betterfinish or for ornamental purposes, but solely for utilitarian purposes.

The metal which enters into the construction of the tag should beductile as well as flexible, so that the tag will have suliicienttenacity to enable it to keep its shape, or, in other words, to remainopen or closed without yielding .in the absence of a reasonably superiorforce. A suitable grade of aluminum is one of the best metals to use forthe tag.

The fabric for the face of the tag should have a surface finish thatwill enable the same to be readily printed or written on, although itconceivable that such fabric might be of a distiinltive character,color, shade or tint which alone could be depended upon to impart theinformation, for which the tag is designed, without any printing orwriting whatever.

Referring to the drawings. it will be observed that the tag thereinillustrated consists of a metal body 1 and tailpiece or tongue 2, theformer being wider than the latter and both having inwardly-directmlribs or lugs, as described. below, and of a fabric face or index on thefront of said body. The body 1. and tongue 9 are bent into angularrelationship, as best shown in Fig. 9, before being applied to thegoods, and into substantially parallel relationship, as best shown inthe last view, when applied to the goods. The aforesaid lugs arerepresented at 4 and 5, the former extending across the body 1 on theinside and the latter across the tongue 2 also on the inside. These lugsare both located above the free ends of the body and tongue, in thiscase, and they are offset relative to each other so as to enable them toshut by each other when the tag is closed and thus grip into thefabricthat may be interposed and securely hold the tag on such fabric.

The tags are punched or stamped from metal strips to which the fabricfor the indices has been previously afiixed, and during the punching orstamping operations the lugs are formed by bends in the metal, the bendswhich produce the body lugs be ing made in the fabric also, as willbe-clearly seen upon referring to Figs. 2 and The fabric index ormarking-surface 3 may be printed all over or only in part, the drawingsshowing printing on the upper part of this surface and none on the lowerpart which is left blank. This is an unimportant matter, however, and sofar as the present invention is concerned it is immaterial whether ornot the printing be done at the time the tag is made, or whether or notwriting be substituted partly or wholly for printing. These are matterswhich will be governed very largely if not entirely by the use to bemade of the tag, soalso in regard to the character or nature of theprinting or writing.

Paper is the fabric that I generally employ for the index ormarking-surface 3, although some kind of woven fabric, as cloth, andpossibly other fabrics which could not properly be classed as eithercloth or paper, might be used in the place of paper.

W hile it is intended that the adhesive material employed in attachingthefabric to the body of the tag shall be of a character to permanentlycause perfect adhesion, yet it is found in practice that poor adhesivematerial may inadvertently 'be employed and that the same may beaffected in a different manner in different climates, and that in a dampclimate for instance the fabric might become detached from the tag, thusleaving the goods without any markings. I provide a means forpermanently attaching the fabric and the body so that if the adhesivematerial should be affected and lose its adhesive properties the fabricwould still remain attached to the body so that the marking of the goodswould remain. 1 accomplish this result by folding the fabric in betweenone or more folds of the body and in the present instance I employ thereference to the employment of an adhesive material.

All that is necessary to do in applying the tag to an article 'is toinsert one edge of such article between the body 1 and the tongue 2 andthen press together said lastmentioned members, either by hand or bymeans of a suitable machine or implement. In thus closing the tag on thearticle and clasping the latter between the body and tongue, the lugs 4Land 5 are pressed into the goods from both sides and firmly grasp thesame between them, and the tag is se curely held in place. 1

The article bearing the tag is adequately marked thereby, as per exampleshown in the last view wherein is represented a piece of fabric 6 havingthe tag attachedthereto.

The tag is removed from the article by simply separating the body 1 andtongue 2- until the lugs t and 5 are free from the fabric and thentaking 0H said tag.

From the foregoing it is plainly to be seen that this is aself-attaching tag as contradistinguished from a tag of the ordinaryvariety that has to be fastened to the goods by some separate,independentor extraneous means, as thread, wire, or a clip.

As has been explained, the ductility of the metal part of the tag causesthe tag to remain open or closed, as the case maybe, until theparticular condition is forcibly changed.

The shape of the tag may vary more or less from that illustrated, andsaid tag may be made of different sizes.

I am aware that metal tags with fabric marking-surfaces have beenproduced before, and do not, therefore, seek to cover such a tagbroadly.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

A tag comprising a flat body member to carry the marking face and havingan intermediate inward-extending transverse fold therein, a rear tongueportion to cooperate with said fold behind to secure the tag in place,and a marking face of fabric secured to the front of the body and heldfro-1n danger of detachment therefrom by being itself intermediately andtransversely folded and grasped in the fold of the body, substantiallyas shown. I

ALEXANDER l IOCALLU'M.

Vitnesses JOHN VILLIAM ALPIN, JAMES W. FISKE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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